Martha Batty

1862 – 1949

✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-07

Martha Batty carries the Batty line into the Drewerys. Born on 19 July 1862 at Aldbrough — the General Register Office has her registered that quarter in the Skirlaugh district — she was the fifth of the nine children on Mum's list, and within five years of her birth the family had left the village for the Hull docks. Her page begins where her father's ends, in the yards off Salthouse Lane.

The 1871 census, read at the enumeration page, sets the scene of her childhood: 4 White Hart Passage, a court household between a laundress, a grocer and the Sailors' Home with its Russian and German lodgers. Her father is a dock labourer, her eldest brother Thomas already a waterman at sixteen, and her unmarried uncle Robert — her father's brother, a labourer — boards with the family. Martha is eight, a scholar. By 1881 she is out in service, the only general servant at a small farm at Rowley, near Beverley, where the farmer's wife is twenty-two with a baby of eight months — Martha, at eighteen, nursing another woman's child. Her own son was fifteen months old that census night, and he was not with her.

That son had been registered in the first quarter of 1880, in Hull, as Thomas Batty — his mother's name, there being as yet no other. On 27 November 1882, at St John the Evangelist in Hull, Martha Batty married William Drewery, labourer; the register, read at the image, shows both of them 'of 4 Providence Square', the groom making his mark and Martha signing her name — with two more fluent Batty signatures beneath, her brother Thomas and her sister Mary Elizabeth, standing witness for their sister. The boy grew up as Thomas Batty Drewery, the registration surname carried as a middle name for life, and through him this line runs down to the present family.

Mum traced Martha's whole frame — birth, marriage, children, and her death on 8 June 1949, aged 86, from the memorial inscription she read at Eastrington church — and every record this pass could reach confirms her: the censuses and the marriage register at the image, the birth and death in the civil indexes. Only a baptism is missing: neither findmypast nor FamilySearch has one for her, and Mum's own page — which gives baptism dates for every sibling — records for Martha only the birth. A July baby of a family about to leave the parish, she may simply never have been brought to the font.

Composed from validated records · 2026-07-07

Birth: July 19th 1862, Aldbrough
Marriage: November 27th, 1882, St. John's, Hull to William Drewery
Death: June 8th, 1949, aged 86 years (M.I. Eastrington Church)
Parents: William Batty born Thorngumbald, East Yorkshire Eliza Ollivant, born Aldbrough, East Yorkshire
Siblings: Thomas Batty baptised March 18th 1854, Aldbrough Jonathan Batty baptised December 25th 1856, Aldbrough John Ollivant Batty baptised June 20th 1858, Albrough (parent's name column blank) Mary Elizabeth Batty baptised June 17th 1860, Aldbrough Martha Batty born July 19th 1862, Aldbrough Sarah Batty baptised December 14th 1864, Aldbrough William Edward Battie (sic) born April 22nd, 1867, Hull Robert Batty baptised August 28th 1870, St. Mary, Lowgate, died 1870 Eliza Batty baptised March 31st 1872, St. Mary, Lowgate
Children:: Thomas Batty Drewery born January 3rd 1880, Hull Fanny Drewery born April 15th 1883,Swine baptised May 13th, Swine Eliza Drewery born January 2nd Swine, baptised February 22nd 1885 Swine Mary Drewery born May 24th 1891 , Benningholme, baptised June 28th, Swine
1871c: Living with family in Hull, in the parish of St. Mary William Batty, 1834, Head, born Thorngumbald Eliza Batty, 1832, Wife, born Aldbrough Thomas Batty, 1855, Son, born Aldbrough, Waterman John Batty, 1859, Son, born Aldbrough Mary Elizabeth Batty, 1861, Daughter, born Aldbrough Martha Batty . 1863, Daughter, born Aldbrough Sarah Batty, 1865, Daughter, born Aldbrough William E Batty, 1867, son, born Hull Robert Batty, 1830, Brother, born Thorngumbald, Labourer Address: 4 White Hart Passage, Salthouse Lane Occupation of William: Dock labourer
1880: Birth of Thomas Batty
1881c: General Servant to Charles Kirtland, Farmer, and family. Living at Farm House, Rowley, Yorkshire
1882: Marries William Drewery at St. John's Church, Hull.

In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook

Family

Parents

WBFatherWilliam Batty1834–1901 EOMotherEliza Ollivant1832–1876

The children of William & Eliza

· · · Martha Batty b. 1862this page · · · ·

Marriage

WDSpouseWilliam Drewery1848–1927

Children

TDChild · the line continuesThomas Batty Drewerymain line1880–1941

Life

Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred

1862

Born at Aldbrough — 19 July 1862

19 July 1862 at Aldbrough

Martha Batty — registered July–September quarter 1862 — Skirlaugh district, Yorkshire— Birth registered — Q3 1862, Skirlaugh district

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

Birth registered — Q3 1862, Skirlaugh district — GRO index of births (England & Wales), September quarter 1862, Skirlaugh registration district — the district covering Aldbrough. Read in the findmypast index, 7 July 2026; the sole East Riding entry for the year. index entry — original not yet seen

1871

Census · 1871

1871

William Batty — Head — Mar — 37 — Dock Labourer — [Yorkshire] Thorngumbald · Eliza do — Wife — do — 39 — — do Aldbro' · Thomas do — Son — Unm — 16 — Waterman — do do · John do — do — 12 — Scholar — do do · Mary Elizabeth do — Daur — 10 — do — do do · Martha do — do — 8 — do — do do · Sarah do — do — 6 — do — do do · William E do — Son — 4 — — do Hull · Robert Batty — Brother — Unm — 41 — Labourer — do Thorngumbald
— 1871 census — 4 White Hart Passage, Salthouse Lane, Hull

Read at the image record Evidence

Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:

1871 census — 4 White Hart Passage, Salthouse Lane, Hull — 1871 Census of England, Wales & Scotland — The National Archives RG 10/4788; parish of St Mary, Municipal Ward of Lowgate, Hull; Schedule 95, '4 White Hart Passage / Salthouse Lane'. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image GBC/1871/4788/0129), 7 July 2026. read at the image

1880

A son, registered Thomas Batty — Hull

1880

Thomas Batty — registered quarter 1 (Jan–Mar), 1880 — Hull district, Yorkshire. [Thomas DREWERY, born 1880, Hull district: no entry.]— Her son's birth registered — Thomas Batty, Q1 1880, Hull

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

Her son's birth registered — Thomas Batty, Q1 1880, Hull — GRO index of births (England & Wales), March quarter 1880, Hull registration district. Read in the findmypast index, 7 July 2026 — the sole Thomas Batty registered in Hull that year; a counter-check for Thomas Drewery, born 1880, Hull, returns nothing. index entry — original not yet seen

1881

Census · 1881

1881

Charles Kirtland — Head — Married — 33 — Farmer — Notts Walkeringham · Frances do — Wife — Married — 22 — Farmer Wife — Yorkshire Leeds · Kate E do — Daughter — unm — 8 months — do Daughter — do Riplingham · Martha Batty — Servant — unm — 18 — General Servant — do Aldbrough · Robert Hardy — Servant — unm — 19 — Farm Servant — do Riplingham · George Stockwood — Servant — unm — 15 — Farm do — do South Cave
— 1881 census — general servant, Farm House, Rowley

Read at the image record Evidence

Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:

1881 census — general servant, Farm House, Rowley — 1881 Census of England, Wales & Scotland — The National Archives RG 11/4739; civil parish of Rowley, Beverley district; Schedule 15, 'Farm House'. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image GBC/1881/4362176/00134), 7 July 2026. The enumerator's page reads 'Farmer' for Charles Kirtland where the index has 'Tanner'. read at the image

1882

Married William Drewery — St John the Evangelist

1882 at Hull

No. 119 — When Married: 27th
November 1882 · William Drewery — 27 — Bachelor — Labourer — 4 Providence Square — [father] Robert Drewery — Labourer · Martha Batty — 20 — Spinster — — — Do — Do — [father] William Batty — Labourer … This Marriage was solemnized between us: William Drewery his × mark · Martha Batty [her own signature] · in the Presence of us: Thomas Batty · Mary Elizabeth Batty
— Marriage register — St John the Evangelist, Hull, 1882

Read at the image record Evidence

Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:

Marriage register — St John the Evangelist, Hull, 1882 — Parish register of St John the Evangelist, Hull, marriages 1879–1893 — East Riding Archives & Local Studies Service PE 159/5, register page 60, entry No. 119. Read from the register image (findmypast Yorkshire Marriages, image 62 of 252), 7 July 2026. read at the image

1882

Married William Drewery

27 November 1882

William Drewery, 27, bachelor, labourer, of 4 Providence Square, and Martha Batty, spinster, 20, of 4 Providence Square, were married after banns — witnesses Thomas Batty and Mary Elizabeth Batty; fathers Robert Drewery, labourer, and William Batty, labourer. Martha signed her name; William made his mark. 27
November 1882.
— Marriage certificate, St John's, Hull (1882)

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:

Marriage certificate, St John's, Hull (1882) — St John's church, Hull — the certified copy is photographed on this page. Both parties gave 4 Providence Square — Thomas Batty's address at the 1881 census; the witnesses were Martha's brother and sister. from Mum’s research

1949

Died at Hull, aged 86

8 June 1949

Martha Drewery — birth year 1863 [derived] — Q2 1949 — Hull district, Yorkshire— Death registered — Q2 1949, Hull

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

Death registered — Q2 1949, Hull — GRO index of deaths (England & Wales), June quarter 1949, Hull registration district; the index derives her birth year as 1863 from her stated age, consistent with July 1862. Read in the findmypast index, 7 July 2026. The 8 June date and the Eastrington memorial inscription are Mum's own reading in the churchyard. index entry — original not yet seen

Our research

Martha across the records

Research · Aldbrough & Hull

Both her censuses, her marriage register and the civil indexes framing her birth, her son's birth and her death are read; Mum's page is confirmed in every particular it makes. Three questions stay open.

Where was baby Thomas on census night 1881? He was fifteen months old and not with Martha at Rowley — the whole household is read. A 'Thomas Batty, 2, son' appears that night in the Sutton & Stoneferry household of David Batty, an oil miller born at Paull who is plausibly Holderness kin — but that leaf is unread and the identification unproven either way. To do: check the GRO online birth index's mother's-maiden-name column for Thomas Batty, Q1 1880, Hull — a Batty-mother entry is ours; any other maiden name is David's boy. Jon's action, at gro.gov.uk (free account, no purchase needed).

No baptism found. Neither findmypast nor FamilySearch has a baptism for Martha (both searched; every hit is West Riding), and Mum's page — which has baptism dates for all eight siblings — gives Martha only a birth date, so she likely found none either. Aldbrough's digitised registers have proven gaps elsewhere in this pass; a Hull History Centre check of the original would settle whether she was baptised at all.

A Drewery-side lead, logged for that family's pass: the 1882 register gives William Drewery's age as 27 (born about 1855), where his page carries 1848. His own baptism and censuses adjudicate; nothing on Martha's page depends on it.